


Dancing in the Dark

by CR Noble (erudite12)



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Awkward!Sam, Case Fic, Deaf!Sam, Dean breaks a leg, F/M, Iele, Romanian spirit, Saileen is cute, bed sharing, injured!dean, seriously they're never prepared for the things that happen, some nudity (sorta), they should really do more research before hunting things, whoops the motel room only has one bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-21
Updated: 2019-07-21
Packaged: 2020-07-09 09:28:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19885369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/erudite12/pseuds/CR%20Noble
Summary: Sam and Dean need Eileen's help to catch an Iele, a Romanian spirit that seduces men and lures them to their deaths. When Dean ends up in the hospital, it's up to Sam and Eileen to follow the spirit to the next town. They got this, right? There's no unresolved tension there... at least Sam can pretend there isn't, right up until they get to the only motel in Fish Creek, Wisconsin that has a room available. The problem? There's only one double bed. Awkward... Can Sam and Eileen make it work?





	Dancing in the Dark

**Author's Note:**

> Here is my fic for the Supernatural Trope Celebration 2019!
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I liked writing it!
> 
> A big thank you to [Elena Gray](https://cross-roads-blues.tumblr.com/), 
> 
> Check out the [Art Masterpost](https://cross-roads-blues.tumblr.com/post/186453787100/really-enjoyed-arting-for-spn-trope-celebration-in)please go like and reblog it because its adorable and I love it!
> 
> A second thank you to [Winchester-ofthe-lord](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Winchester_of_the_lord) for beta reading this for me :D

The motel room was a little cramped but nothing that Sam wasn’t used to. He mostly wished Dean would stop ordering burgers with onions on them. The whole damn motel room smelled like them and even after a maid came in and cleaned, taking the trash with her, the odor still permeated the air. At least they managed to figure out what was killing the fishermen in the small town on the shore of Lake Michigan. The only problem was that if they tried to go up against it themselves they probably wouldn’t stand a chance.

Which was why Sam was opening his laptop on the ridiculously small table in the motel room and wondering why, just for once, they couldn’t stay at a real hotel. This case needed a woman’s touch, so Sam was contacting the best damn female hunter he knew.

“Eileen! Hey!” Sam said when she answered the skype call. He smiled and ran a hand through his long hair awkwardly.

“Hello, Sam,” Eileen responded. 

God, the wifi in this motel was awful. The lag was irritating but Sam could deal if it meant he could look at Eileen’s face for a little longer. Er… if it gave him a chance to ask for her help on the case. Right. That’s totally what he meant. “How have you been?”

“Okay, I guess. Busy,” came Eileen’s wifi-broken response. “What’s going on?”

“Dean and I caught a case and we need your help.” Sam was smiling stupidly like he did every time he talked to Eileen. He hoped she hadn’t noticed it yet. “The spirit we’re hunting only preys on men.”

“Sounds interesting. What is it?”

“So, get this, it’s an Iele.” Sam thought the look of confusion the crossed Eileen’s face was ridiculously adorable but he didn’t say anything. “It’s a Romanian spirit similar to a Siren. Gets its rocks off by seducing men and luring them to their deaths.”

“Where are you?” Eileen asked. She seemed interested in the case, which Sam appreciated. He did not at all hope that she was just as interested in seeing him as he was in seeing her.

“Ephraim, Wisconsin.” 

There was a long pause but Sam couldn’t be sure if it was due to the lagging internet connection or because Eileen was thinking. “That’s an odd place for a Romanian spirit.”

“Yeah, we have some thoughts about that, too. I’ll fill you in when you get here.”

“Sounds good. I’ll book a flight and text you when I know what time I should be arriving.”

“Great!” Sam paused for a moment, looking literally anywhere but the screen of his laptop. “I can’t wait to see you.”

They said their goodbyes and Sam shut his laptop, sipping his coffee while he waited for Dean to get out of the shower so he could tell him Eileen had agreed to help. He would never admit it to his brother but he couldn’t wait to see her.

The door to the bathroom opened and Dean entered the main part of the motel room surrounded by a plume of steam. “Did you talk to her?”

“Yeah,” Sam replied with a smile, wishing his brother would get dressed in the bathroom for once in his life as he glanced over and saw Dean standing there in nothing but the towel he’d wrapped around his waist. “She’s booking a flight now and she’s gonna text me when she knows what time she’s arriving.”

“Good,” Dean said with a smirk, “So, how much alone time do I need to give you two lovebirds?”

Sam looked at him with what he liked to refer to as bitch-face number forty-five, the  _ mind your own business, Dean _ edition. “Shut up.” It did not matter even a little that Dean was right. Sam would definitely want some time alone with Eileen. But the case was more important than that. Once they took care of the Iele, Sam would ask her himself.

His phone buzzed in his pocket. 

_ I’ll be there in about twelve hours. Have to rent a car and drive from Ohare. _

“Looks like Eileen won’t be here until tomorrow.” Sam sighed. He’d hoped she would be able to get there sooner but he knew how difficult it could be to book a flight on such short notice. Not that he ever flew anymore. He chuckled to himself, thinking back to the demon they’d exorcized mid-flight while they were still searching for their dad.

“Well, let’s hit the diner and get some grub,” Dean suggested, “I’m starving.”

* * *

Sam checked his watch for the hundredth time. Eileen should be arriving any minute now. She’d texted him an hour ago when she stopped for gas. He peered at his reflection in the gaudily framed mirror that hung above the motel room’s table one more time, making sure his hair was as perfect as ever.

There was a knock at the door. It had to be Eileen. Dean got to it before Sam, peeking through the peephole with his 1911 in hand, just in case. He opened the door with a smile and invited her inside. She only had one bag, which probably held more weapons than clothes, and Dean took it from her as soon as she stepped over the threshold, setting it on the floor next to Sam’s duffel. 

“Sam!” Eileen smiled brightly at him and he melted just a little. Hopefully, it wasn’t too obvious. She moved over to him quickly, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him tightly. “It’s good to see you.” She glanced over at Dean. “Both of you.”

“You, too,” Dean said. “Did you want to settle in first? Or grab some food and we can fill you in on the case?”

“I’m starving,” she replied.

“Well, there’s a diner down the road. Dean and I went for dinner last night. It’s a decent place,” Sam said, grabbing his jacket off the back of the chair and pulling it on over his flannel. “You can ride there with us.”

“Works for me,” Dean said. ‘But one of you has to ride up front.” He turned away so Eileen wouldn’t be able to read his lips. “I’m not listening to the two of you making out in the back seat while I’m trying to drive.”

Even knowing his brother wouldn’t be able to see it, Sam threw bitch-face number thirty-six at his back. Instinctively, Sam rested a hand on Eileen’s back as they followed Dean out the door to the Impala.

It was only a ten-minute drive from the motel to the diner and before he knew it, they were sitting in a booth with coffee steaming in front of them and their food cooking in the kitchen. Sam pushed a manila file over to Eileen as he started going over the details of the case. She didn’t open the file but instead watched him attentively, reading his lips even as he signed as much as he knew how. He’d been practicing American Sign Language but he didn’t know how to sign everything. It seemed there were a lot of words missing from ASL, especially when it came to their particular line of work.

“So, an Iele is a lot like a Siren, except its Romanian instead of Greek. And it’s not just their voice that lures men to their deaths. It’s the dance.”

“I read up on some of the lore on my flight,” Eileen responded with a nod. She squinted at the first photo in the file as she took a sip of her coffee. “But according to everything I’ve read, Iele generally don’t attack unprovoked. Or outside of Romania. So, why here and now?”

Dean tapped on the table to draw Eileen’s attention. It was nice to see he finally stopped forgetting that she was deaf. Though Sam understood how it could be an easy thing to overlook. It sure as hell didn’t impair her abilities as a hunter. In fact, he often found himself thinking it made her a better hunter. 

“We don’t know why it's here. Best we can figure is that they sometimes claim trees as their property. Maybe this one’s tree got chopped down and used to make something that found its way to Wisconsin.” Dean stopped when the waitress, Tammy, approached with their food. He thanked her as she lay their plates on the table in front of them, winking and smiling flirtatiously. Sam just rolled eyes for the 457th time that day. “As for why? Apparently, in ancient Romania, or whatever, the nine days after Easter were a festival dedicated to appeasing the local Iele.”

It was Sam’s turn to catch Eileen’s gaze. He softly brushed his fingers across the back of her hand and waited for her to look at him. He did  _ not  _ think about how soft her skin was or how much more of it he would like to explore. “So, get this… back in the day, anyone who worked on these festival days would be punished by the spirits. Weird crop and cattle deaths. House fires. Entire fishing villages flooded for not participating in the celebration.”

“You think that it started attacking people because no one took the time to hold the festival,” Eileen concluded. She looked back down at the file, flipping through a few more of the papers Sam had gathered. A lock of her hair that couldn’t be contained by the practical ponytail she wore fell across her face as she looked down and Sam instinctively reached out to smooth it and tuck it behind her ear. 

She looked up at him, eyes wide with surprise and--if it wasn’t just his imagination--some other undefined emotion. Her smile was so small it almost slipped his notice. 

Sam felt the blush creep into his cheeks when Dean cleared his throat. How long had he been caught up in her eyes? Apparently, long enough for it to be awkward. Awesome.

“How does it kill its victims?” Eileen asked, finally breaking the weird, tense silence. Her eyes darted between Sam and Dean.

Dean lifted a finger to indicate he would be the one speaking and said, “It seduces the victim into its circle and then dances them to death. One of the guys had a heart attack. Another was apparently trying to dance so fast that all the muscles, tendons, and blood vessels in his legs were ripped open and he bled out.”

“Wow,” Eileen said with a raised eyebrow. “It sounds like a bad movie. How do we kill it?”

“Iron dipped in the blood of one of its victims. Straight to the heart.” Sam grimaced as he answered and Eileen’s brow furrowed in confusion. Sometimes it was like she had a sixth sense and could pick up on exactly what he was feeling. “The problem is that all of the victims so far were dead for at least a few days before we got here. Heart attack guy was already embalmed.”

“So, no blood of a victim.” Eileen nodded thoughtfully. Then she smiled wryly and looked between the two of them. “And which one of you is playing the role of bait?”

* * *

“Man, I can’t believe I let you talk me into this,” Dean said, slamming the Impala’s trunk shut. The sun had set hours ago over Peninsula State Park. They decided to park the car near the campground on the south side of Nicolet Bay. It was closer to where the last victim was found and Sam knew they might need to get out of the woods in a hurry.

Sam and Eileen shared a look, willing themselves not to burst into laughter at the way Dean was bitching. They stood close together, much closer than was strictly necessary, and Sam bit the inside of his lip to control the urge to reach out and take Eileen’s hand in his. 

“Well, are we doing this or not? I swear to God, I will change my mind if you don’t move your asses.” Dean turned and walked toward a small clearing in the trees. They were close enough to the shore that the sound of Lake Michigan lapping at the sand and stones was a pleasant background of white noise. In fact, Sam thought this would be a great place to spend a quiet weekend in a tent with someone special. If they weren’t there to kill something. That tended to put a damper on the romance.

Sam and Eileen followed Dean in silence until they broke into the clearing. It could have been beautiful and probably had been once. But now, in the very center of the trees was a massive circle of scorched earth. It was completely devoid of life, posing a stark contrast to the thick vibrancy of the verdant woods surrounding them.

_ Is that it?  _ Eileen signed, her quickly moving hands just barely visible outside the swath of light provided by the lantern Sam carried.

_ Yes.  _ He paused, sliding the handle of the lantern down to his wrist and trying to remember the correct movements for what he wanted to say.  _ The… I.E.L.E makes the circle with its dance. _

The difficulty of the sign language was well worth the reward of Eileen’s bright smile. “You’re improving very quickly, Sam,” she said proudly.

_ I have a very good teacher. _ Okay, so maybe he was showing off just a little. Sam couldn’t help the fact that it pleased him immensely that she was proud of his progress.

“Uh, hello?” Dean said, annoyance laced in his voice. Sam looked over at him apologetically. “Maybe you could stop flirting with your girlfriend? I’m literally about to risk my life for this.” He grabbed a knife out of his duffel and then tossed the bag to Sam. “Okay. I have no idea if this is going to work but you remember the plan, right?”

“Of course we remember the plan, Dean.” Sam pulled a long, iron crowbar out of the bag and handed it to Eileen before grabbing his own implement, a poker that he and Dean had stolen from a fireplace on another case a few years back.

“Don’t step inside the circle, Sam. No matter what happens. Hopefully, we can end this quickly.” Dean took a deep breath, shaking himself and visibly tightening his grip on the iron knife. 

Sam hoped it would be enough. It wasn’t even that sharp but it was all they had. “Wait!” Sam shouted, an idea striking him suddenly. He reached into the duffel, rooting around until he found a length of rope. Unwinding it, he tossed one end to Dean. “Tie this around your waist so we can pull you if we need to.”

“Ya know, moments like this I can actually believe they let you through the door at Stanford,” Dean joked but his face was pale in the sliver of moonlight that bathed the clearing. No matter how many times they did things like this, it never stopped being scary. Every single time they risked their lives to gank a monster could be their last. Sam kept his thoughts to himself. There was no reason to make this any worse for Dean. He watched his brother cinch his end of the rope into an expert harness.

Sam backed away, holding tightly onto the rope that was possibly his brother’s only lifeline. He looked over at Eileen and she was all business, face set in hard lines and her weapon held out in front of her. She glanced over at him and nodded firmly. They were as ready as they ever would be. He turned back and held his breath as Dean stepped into the carbonized circle.

Crickets chirped in the trees around them. The breeze blew softly through the leaves. The lapping of water against the shoreline was still audible.

Nothing happened. No ghostly apparition. No monster flying out of the trees.

“Uh… what’s going on?” Dean asked. “The lore said it pisses them off when people walk into their little dance circles. So, where the hell is it?”

“I don’t know,” Sam replied, tilting his head to one side and throwing a confused smile in Eileen’s direction. “Maybe we should wait a little longer?”

Another five minutes passed in the relative silence of the woods before Eileen turned to Sam and said, “I think it’s time for Plan B.”

“Finally,” Dean said, turning toward them and walking out of the circle still grumbling about being used, unsuccessfully no less, as bait for a stupid spirit.

Sam was the first to see it. As soon as Dean stepped out of the circle, the Iele appeared in its center. She was beautiful. Tall, slender, and ethereal, the spirit floated a few inches above the ground. Every part of her glowed with a pale, otherworldly light. The features of her face were delicate and her long hair flowed past her shoulders and down to her knees, effectively covering her nudity. Around her wrists and ankles were bracelets of small, tinkling bells. It was easy to see how men could be seduced by this creature. Even Sam had to exercise massive amounts of self-control to resist the compulsion to take a step toward her.

“Dean,” Sam said, indicating the Iele, “behind you.”

Dean turned to face the spirit and she raised an arm, the bells at her wrist jangling pleasantly as she pointed at him. When she opened her mouth, Sam expected to hear the beautiful song the lore had said Iele would sing to lure men into their circles. What actually came out of her mouth was nothing of the sort. It was a hair-raising, bone-chilling, unearthly shriek of anger. Before any of them had the chance to react to it, the creature flicked a wrist and sent Dean flying into the thick trunk of a tree.

There was a sickening crack of bone as his leg bent at an unnatural angle upon impact and Dean cried out in pain. He didn’t slump to the ground, the Iele held him in place flying across the clearing until she was right on top of him. She screamed again and buried an incorporeal hand in Dean’s chest. 

Sam was on his feet, running toward them with his weapon raised to slash at her as Dean gasped for air, his face contorted in pain. Without looking back, she flicked her free hand in Sam’s direction and he was sent flying back past Eileen. He hit the forest floor hard, the impact knocking the air from his lungs and jarring his bones. 

Eileen was already on the Iele when Sam was able to focus again, swinging the crowbar at its insubstantial form. It disappeared like a ghost as soon as the iron touched it and Dean fell forward, unmoving at the base of the tree. Eileen turned, looking back at Sam. “Are you okay?” she shouted.

Sam was on his feet again, moving toward his brother when the spirit appeared in the center of her circle again. It flew immediately toward Dean and Eileen but was dispelled again by the swing of the crowbar. They had to contain the damn thing. At least for long enough to get out of the park and get Dean to a hospital. If he was still alive. Sam pushed the thought from his mind. Of course, he was still alive. This was Dean they were talking about. Digging into the duffel again, Sam thought quickly.

The Iele behaved more like a ghost than a monster and it seemed tied somehow to its circle. Both times she appeared had been in the center of it. Sam’s fingers closed around an old paint thinner can. Salt. He moved quickly, running to the edge of the circle as he twisted the lid off the can so he could pour a thick line of salt around the circumference of the ground scorched by the spirit’s dance. Just as he closed the circle, the Iele appeared again. In the same spot as the last two times.

She flew at Sam and he stumbled back, away from the salt line he’d lain. When the spirit reached the edge, it ricocheted back into the center of its circle. Sam laughed nervously. It worked. The Iele was trapped, at least for the time being. The sounds of its wrathful cry filled the air and Sam scrambled for the duffel bag, throwing it over his shoulder and quickly making his way toward Eileen and his brother.

Eileen looked up at him when he lightly tapped her shoulder. Her crowbar was raised and for a split-second, Sam thought she was going to hit him with it. “Here, take this,” Sam said, pulling the straps of the bag off of his shoulder and handing it to Eileen. He reached down and checked Dean’s pulse, breathing a sigh of relief when he found it steady and strong. “We’ve gotta get him to a hospital.” He looked up at Eileen as he spoke and she nodded. It occurred to Sam that he was shouting over the volume of the Iele’s shrieking for no reason.

Grateful his brother was unconscious for this, Sam reached down and scooped Dean up. He avoided jarring Dean’s broken leg as best as he could while throwing his unceremoniously over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. Grabbing Eileen’s arm with his free hand, he pulled her out of the clearing in the direction of the Impala. They had to get out of the woods before the Iele found a way to escape.

* * *

When Sam and Eileen had arrived at the emergency room of the Door County Medical Center with Dean, they had been fortunate enough that the waiting area was nearly empty. Dean was awake when they got there and the nurses rushed him back almost immediately.

Several hours had passed and Sam was on his fourth cup of muddy vending machine coffee, pacing back and forth while Eileen sat calmly in a hard plastic chair. To anyone that didn’t know her, she’d look like the picture of serenity but Sam knew better. He could see her concern in the slight downturn of her tight lips, the tap of her fingers on the arm of the chair, and the way her eyes darted to the door every few seconds. He wanted to comfort her but he was too wrapped up in his own worry to be of any use in that department.

It wasn’t so much that he was worried about Dean. His brother had survived much worse. The Iele wouldn’t stay trapped in that circle. It had probably already escaped. And it was pissed. Sam didn’t have to say it out loud. There would be another victim tonight, another body in the morgue. Sam and Eileen would have to handle it themselves. 

“Mr. Winchester?” a young male voice called out from the doorway into the emergency department. The doctor. 

Eileen was already on her feet as he approached. 

“Your brother came out of surgery fine and he’s in a recovery room now. He’s awake if you’d like to come back and see him,” the doctor said.

Eileen reached over and grabbed Sam’s hand, squeezing it reassuringly once before letting it drop from her grasp. He smiled softly at her and they followed the doctor back to Dean’s room.

“Sammy!” he exclaimed. A goofy grin broke across his face. “You brought your girlfriend!”

Sam felt his skin flush, burning all the way up to his ears and he glanced over at Eileen with an apologetic, embarrassed laugh. “They give you the good drugs?” he asked his brother. Not exactly how he was planning on confessing his feelings.

Eileen just looked at him with a half smile and amusement dancing in her eyes. 

Dean was surprisingly amenable to staying at the hospital when Sam and Eileen told him the plan for the Iele. “Looks like you lovebirds will finally get some alone time.” Dean winked suggestively at Eileen and Sam did his best impression of a turtle retreating into its shell, wishing for once that she wasn’t such an expert lip reader.

Just when he thought he couldn’t possibly feel any more awkward, Eileen laughed and rested a hand on Dean’s, leaning over and saying “I’ve been trying to get your brother alone for ages.”

Sam turned away for a moment, definitely not thinking about the implications of that statement. Absolutely not thinking about what Dean meant by alone time. “Okay,” he said, turning back toward his brother. “I think it’s time for us to go. Don’t harass the nurses.” 

“What if the nurse is cute?” Dean asked as they were walking out the door and Sam couldn’t help but shake his head and laugh.

* * *

A trip back to the state park revealed that Sam had, of course, been right. The Iele escaped and they had no way of tracking it. All they could do was wait for the next body to drop. It was not a position either Sam or Eileen enjoyed being in. 

Unfortunately, Dean had checked them out of their motel room as soon as Eileen arrived, thinking that with her help, they’d make quick work of the spirit and be able to head home. Clearly, it hadn’t worked out that way and now Sam and Eileen had little option as to where they could bed down for the night. They could spend the night at the hospital with Dean, pitch a tent, or find a new room at another motel. Too tired to spend time setting up at a campsite, Sam and Eileen opted for finding a new place to stay.

The town of Fish Creek, WI was incrementally closer to where they came out of the state park than Ephraim. It was closer to the hospital, too. So, they pulled Eileen’s rented car--even in his drugged state, Dean had made it very clear he didn’t want them taking Baby--into the parking lot of the first place they saw.

There was a girl, probably around nineteen, behind the front desk of the motel when they walked in. She barely spared them a glance as they walked up, too busy with whatever she was doing on her phone to care about new customers. Sam stood awkwardly towering over the counter for a moment before he started losing patience and cleared his throat.

“Oh,” said the girl blankly, looking up at him. “Didn’t see you there.”

Unlikely but okay. “We need a room for the night, please.” Sam pulled his wallet out of the back pocket of his jeans and handed the girl a credit card with the name Samuel Frampton and a matching driver’s license.

“Sure, no problem.” She turned toward the computer monitor that sat on the countertop and started typing away. Five minutes later she was handing Sam a key card and they were on their way to room 126. When they arrived at the door, Sam handed the card to Eileen and grabbed all of their bags from the car. 

She opened the door and held it for him without bothering to turn on the light. Sam squeezed through the door and dropped the bags from his shoulders onto the floor before reaching over to flip the switch. It was the same kind of dingy motel room Sam was used to. Tacky wallpaper? Check. Carpet stained by God knew what? Check. Magic Fingers? Also, check. Two double beds? 

Oh no.

There was only one double bed, right in between the two matching faux wood nightstands with their gaudily shaded lamps. Sam’s jaw tightened as his eyes fruitlessly searched for the second bed. Like it was somehow hiding from him. Turning to Eileen, he smiled and signed,  _ You take the bed, I can sleep on the floor. _

“Absolutely not, Sam,” Eileen responded, shaking her head. “You are just as tired as me and we are both adults. We can share the bed.”

Right. Share the bed. Because they were adults. But Sam didn’t feel like an adult. He felt like an awkward teenager that was being asked to share a bed with the hottest girl in high school. Nope, there was no way he was doing this. “Uh, yeah, okay.”

Apparently, his mouth hadn’t gotten the message. Too late to back out now, he supposed. He picked the bags up again and carried them over to the tiny table that every motel room had. He faced away from Eileen as much as he could because he wasn’t sure that he could control his face. He had to compose himself before he could turn around to look at her. He tried for the least awkward smile he could manage when he did. “You want the first shower?”

Eileen nodded, stepping up next to Sam to unzip her bag. She reached in, pulling out a pair of soft sleep pants, a t-shirt, and a pair of silky black panties that she didn’t even try to hide. Sam was blushing like a schoolgirl again, he could feel it, but Eileen didn’t seem to notice that he’d seen. Maybe he better keep that to himself. Yeah, some things were definitely better left unsaid.

She disappeared into the bathroom and Sam sat on the bed, sighing and shaking his head. Maybe now was the right time to tell her how he felt. They were about to sleep together--in the same bed, he meant--for the first time. Would it be more or less weird if he said something? Would it matter at all?

Laying back against the pillows on one side of the bed, Sam waited for Eileen to get out of the shower. His body was still sore from the Iele throwing him against the ground and he was exhausted. The falling water of the shower was white noise in the background as he drifted off into sleep.

* * *

Sunlight streamed through the window and something soft and warm was pressed into his body, tangled in his arms and legs. Eileen. Sam opened his eyes to see her there, breathing steadily in her sleep. He was wrapped protectively around her and she fit comfortably in his arms. Well, mostly. The fingers at the end of the arm beneath her tingled, painfully numb. It was a small price to pay as far as he was concerned.

He chuckled to himself, closing his eyes and sighing. “Not how I imagined our first night in bed together.”

“It’s not how I imagined it either,” Eileen said, startling Sam. Apparently, she wasn’t as asleep as Sam thought, not if she was reading his lips. She was smiling playfully when he opened his eyes. 

Again with the blushing. What was he, twelve? “I thought you were asleep.” Because that was a great excuse for sticking his foot in his mouth. Doing great, Sam. Really great.

“I was asleep. But now I’m awake.” Eileen looked at him thoughtfully.

“Seems like nothing is going to plan lately,” Sam said with a laugh. Now was as good a chance as he would ever going to have. “I, uh, planned to do this differently. Way less awkwardly. But here it is. I’d really like to take you out to dinner sometime. Like, on a date.”

“I think we’ve progressed past the point of a dinner date, Sam.” Eileen reached up, tucking a lock of hair that had fallen in his face behind his ear and smirking. “We’ve already slept together.”

Just like that, Sam’s nerves were gone and he was laughing along with her as he slid his numb arm out from under her. “Seriously,” he said, looking at her as he rubbed the feeling back into his limb. “I want to take you out on a date.”

“Okay, we’ll go out to dinner before we end up in bed together next time,” she teased. “Now, go take a shower. I’ll get us some coffee.”

* * *

Forty-five minutes later they were in Eileen’s car and on their way back to Peninsula State Park. Eileen had taken the liberty of skimming through the local news online and there had been another attack. The body was discovered around four in the morning while they were sleeping and Sam did his best not to feel guilty about it. It didn’t work. From the somber look on Eileen’s face, she didn’t feel much differently.

When they arrived on the scene, the police were already gone. They must have finished their evidence collection and other examination earlier. Caution tape still blocked off the scene but Sam and Eileen ignored it. Sure enough, on the other side was a wide, circular swath of scorched earth, identical to the others. Being careful not to step inside the circle as he walked around the edge, Sam looked up at Eileen and made sure she could see him before asking “How did the latest victim die?”

“Another heart attack,” Eileen said. “We need the blood of a victim, right? We should get over to the morgue.”

It didn’t take long to get there, or for them to talk their way past the Medical Examiner. They were in the morgue, examining the body in no time flat. At least they’d gotten to this one while he still had some blood left for them to take. The Y incision in the victim’s chest hadn’t even been stitched up yet. Glancing around to make sure no one was looking, Sam pulled a syringe out of his pocket. 

Eileen turned the lifeless head to one side and Sam inserted the needle into the dead man’s neck, pulling back the plunger to draw the blood from the artery. He repeated the process with two more syringes, capping all of them and tucking them back into his pocket. They checked out of the morgue and quickly headed back to the motel.

* * *

“Do you ever wonder what it would be like to have a normal job?” Eileen asked. “One where stealing blood from a corpse in the morgue isn’t an everyday part of life?”

Sam stopped digging for knives in the duffel bag and turned to look at her. She didn’t look sad, really. Just curious. Of course, he wondered. They all did. “Sounds boring.”

She smiled at him, agreeing silently. He pulled one iron dagger out of the bag and handed to Eileen, hilt first. It was the only one they had. Sam reclaimed the poker he’d used when they went after the Iele the first time.

They both managed to fit in the world’s smallest motel bathroom, weapons and all. Sam leaned over the tub and Eileen over the sink as he handed her one of the capped, blood-filled syringes. Silently, they doused their weapons. When they were sufficiently covered and had stopped dripping, Sam wrapped them in plastic, carried them out into the bedroom, and placed them in the duffel.

He was itching to get back out to the woods. They had to stop the Iele before it killed any more innocent people. But it appeared to be nocturnal in nature and the sun was still high in the sky, so they settled down to wait. 

Eileen sat at the table across from him and smiled. “We may as well do something to pass the time,” she said, reaching into her own bag and pulling out a deck of cards. 

She dealt them seven cards each and then examined her hand. With very serious eyes, Eileen looked over at Sam and said, “Do you have any eights?”

“Go fish,” Sam replied, laughing loudly. They played cards, laughing and joking until the sun started to dip below the horizon.

When the sky darkened and they had to turn on the lamp, Sam placed his hand of cards on top of the deck. “Time to go.”

* * *

Sam pushed the button to pop the trunk as he stepped out of the driver’s seat. The scene of the most recent death was closer to the edge of the forest, so they parked in the parking lot instead of driving down to the campsite on this side of the state park. He didn’t take the whole duffel, just pulled out the blood-covered iron weapons and handed Eileen her dagger as she came round to the back of the car. 

Her fingers brushed against his as she took it from him and it sent a tingling spark through him. Despite the palpable tension in the air and the gravity of the situation, Sam smiled at her. Taking his open weapon in his hand, he slammed the trunk lid closed. The plastic was peeled off the weapons quickly and Sam stuck a hand in his pocket, pulling out the last syringe of blood and turning it between his fingers before handing it to Eileen. “Just in case.”

The lights in the parking lot illuminated the space enough for them to see each other clearly and Eileen nodded, putting the vial in her own pocket and signing,  _ Let’s do this. _

Sam nodded and they headed toward the nearby treeline. As soon as his foot stepped onto the softness of the forest floor, he heard something in the distance. Beautiful, otherworldly music. Singing. He took a few steps in the direction of the sound and it grew louder. He meant to turn to Eileen and tell her that he was sure he’d found the path to the Iele, but he was overtaken by the need to find the source of such beauty. Tears sprang to his eyes as he listened and he forgot why he was there, forgot that he wasn’t alone.

The iron poker fell from his hand as his feet carried him toward the music that filled Sam’s senses. His skin tingled with it and all thought was pushed from his mind as he surged forward, running, desperate to reach it. Nothing else existed for Sam. Nothing mattered but making it to the source of the music. He paid no heed to the branches that scratched at his skin as he ran through the trees.

Suddenly, the forest opened up into a clearing and  _ she _ was there at the center of it. Gorgeous, ephemeral, and dancing sensuously. She beckoned Sam with a hand. “Dance with me.” Even her words carried the charm of her song. He stepped into her circle and the music took him, spinning him. Slowly at first but steadily increasing in speed. Everything around him became a blur. He heard the loud pounding of his heart, his blood rushing through his veins, and above it all, the otherworldly, angelic voice of the being that had drawn him there.

As the song increased in tempo, the ache in his legs and a dark shot of fear overtook the ecstasy of the dance. Sam was snapped back to his senses, seeing the Iele for what she was, the music drowned out by his awareness. But he couldn’t stop the dance. His body moved of its own volition. Spinning, faster and faster until he was sure his legs would snap.

Then, as abruptly as it had started, the song ended and Sam crumpled to the ground. Looking up, he saw Eileen there with her knife buried in the Iele’s back. He shielded his eyes from the bright flash of light. An odor like burning hair clung to the air around him and a piercing scream split the night. When the light faded, Sam could hardly see anything. He could barely even breathe, his body exhausted from the effects of the Iele’s enchantment.

A hand touched his arm and Sam instinctively jerked away from it. As his vision slowly returned to normal, he saw Eileen in the pale moonlight. She was bent over him, concern written in the lines of her face. She was saying something but Sam couldn’t hear her. Reaching up to one of his ears, he drew his fingers back and they were wet with blood. Was this what had happened to Eileen? Her lips were still moving but Sam heard nothing but the muffled rush of his own blood.

_ I can’t hear you _ , he signed, holding his hands up in the moonlight to make sure Eileen would be able to see.  _ I can’t hear anything. _

If the news affected her in any way, she didn’t show it. Not that Sam would have expected her to. He was grateful for it anyway.

_ Let’s get out of here, _ she signed back to him, then extended a hand down toward him to help him to his feet.

When he stood, Sam leaned heavily against Eileen. His legs were like jello and he couldn’t seem to take a step without her help. Slowly, agonizingly, they made their way out of the woods. It was weird not being able to hear his own footfalls or the breeze rustling the leaves above them. He could feel his own exhausted panting but his breathing made no sound.

Eileen leaned him against the car when they made it back to the parking lot. He could see the rapid rise and fall of her chest as she breathed heavily from the effort of supporting much of the weight of his large frame as they left the woods. She looked furious, standing there with her brown eyes boring into him and her hands fisted and resting on her hips. Her anger was his fault. Sam had abandoned her as soon as he heard the song.

He had barely lifted his hands to sign an apology when Eileen’s hand landed hard on his cheek, snapping his head unexpectedly to the side. It stung, in more ways than one, but Sam knew he probably deserved it.

_ You scared me, you giant asshole,  _ she signed frantically.  _ You could have died. Don’t ever do that again. _

_ I’m sorry.  _ Sam signed in response. 

Eileen was still moving her hands frenetically, yelling at him, he supposed, but she was going too fast and he couldn’t really understand it. Instead of trying to, he just grabbed her by one hand and pulled her close, wrapping her in his arms. She melted into him, though her eyes were still angry. 

Sam hesitated for just a moment, then bent his head down and captured her lips with his own. It was a short, chaste kiss but not one he would ever forget.

* * *

Stretching to wake his muscles, Sam sat up in the bed and rubbed his face. Sun streamed pleasantly through the window and warmed his skin, and he smiled. He pulled the blanket back and got up, pulling on a pair of comfortable gray sweatpants, and headed out to the kitchen. 

Eileen was pouring two cups of coffee, and Sam waited until she put the pot down to tap her on the shoulder. She turned toward him with a smile, rising onto the tips of her toes to meet him halfway as he bent to kiss her.

_ Good morning _ , he signed, then took the mug she offered him and sipped.

Eileen’s smile turned wry.  _ Was that more like how you imagined our first night together? _

A wide grin split Sam’s face and he nodded. The sound of Eileen’s soft laughter stopped him in his tracks. He put the ceramic coffee mug down on the kitchen counter and looked back over at her.  _ Can you… can you say something out loud? _

“Something out loud,” she said with a nod.

And Sam heard it. For the first time in over a month, he  _ heard _ her speak. 

And it was beautiful.


End file.
